A dry mouth is often associated with medication, particularly heart drugs. Dry mouth is often the result of oral surgery for malignancy. This is especially true when X-rays are used to treat a malignancy occurring in the mouth. It is also caused by chronic sinusitis and its attendant post-nasal drip. Furthermore it is a common complaint of no known etiology of elderly individuals.
The persistance of a dry mouth at night can disturb sleep causing the individual suffering from it to waken frequently, even every hour. Furthermore peridontal disease and increased tooth decay as well as loss of teeth can be a result of xerostomia.
Current treatment has consisted of room humidifiers, and drugs, chiefly pilocarpine. Also patients with dry mouth are advised to drink water, rinse their mouth with fluids such as mouth wash, chew gum or suck hard candy. These latter suggestions of course can only be followed when the patient is awake and are impossible to perform when asleep. Use of room humidifiers and drugs has unfortunately proven ineffective.